by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley 

 

Against a staggering national debt that's surged by $5 trillion in just the last three years, voters will decide in November who will take the reins of Washington's runaway spending.  In the meantime, the fragile economic recovery is struggling to gain traction.  Job creators in the private sector are vulnerable to rising gas prices, expiring pro-growth tax laws and swelling health care costs that influence hiring, investing and spending decisions.

 

Consumer confidence is a primary factor that affects the U.S. economic outlook.  Paying $4 (or more) for a gallon of gas will arguably cause more households to pull back on spending money at their local restaurants, hair salons, retailers and charities.  Higher shipping costs also eat into the profit margins for Main Street businesses, leaving less money for hiring workers.

 

While rising gas prices capture the spotlight in an election year, there's another burden on the American economy.  The costs of frivolous lawsuits are invisible price tags that add up to higher prices for consumers and another burden for businesses struggling to stay above water.

 

In an era when America is looking for economic growth to take root, billions of dollars are wasted on frivolous lawsuits that siphon money away from job creation.  Frivolous claims also clog an already burdened legal system and delay the resolution of lawsuits that have merit.

 

Attorneys who file frivolous lawsuits today can do so without much fear of any consequence.  These claims force innocent individuals and businesses to choose between years of litigation, court costs and attorneys' fees, or paying a settlement.  It's a waste of time, money and resources.

 

A culture of suing at the drop of a hat is an albatross for start-ups and small businesses operating on tight margins.  Small businesses rank the cost and availability of liability insurance as second only to the cost of health care as their top concerns.  While it's no secret that small businesses are the number one job creators in America, it's not so well known how frivolous lawsuits block their road to prosperity and their ability to create jobs.

 

The U.S. legal system relies on Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to curb frivolous filings.  Unfortunately, Rule 11 was watered down in 1993.

 

As the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, I've introduced legislation that would help put the brakes on frivolous lawsuits by restoring the strength behind Rule 11.  My bill, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, would install three reforms to bring more accountability to the U.S. tort system.

 

First, my bill would reinstate mandatory sanctions to deter the offending party from filing a frivolous claim.  Currently, when a judge finds that a lawsuit is frivolous, it's in the judge's discretion whether to impose sanctions.

 

Second, my bill would require judges to impose financial sanctions against lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits, including attorneys' fees and costs incurred by the defendant.

 

Third, my bill would reverse a rule that allows attorneys to avoid sanctions for making a frivolous claim by withdrawing them within 21 days after a motion for sanctions has been served.

 

Law-abiding Americans with a legitimate legal grievance are entitled to their day in court.  But unscrupulous attorneys who litigate for jackpot justice stand in the way of that.  Frivolous lawsuits need to be weeded out of the system.  Putting the brakes on frivolous lawsuits that damage the economy and clog the legal system will go a long ways towards balancing the scales of justice, upholding the rule of law, and improving the public good.

 

 

February 28, 2012
DAVENPORT, IOWA – Kelly's Irish Pub and Eatery, located at 2222 E. 53rd, Avenue, Davenport, IA, since 2004, will host its eighth annual St. Patrick's Day Festival, Friday March 16, and Saturday, March 17.

The weekend's festivities will kick off with a concert Friday night, featuring CMT's The Singing Bee star Beau Davidson. Then Saturday, the doors open at six o'clock in the morning, where over one ton of corned beef and two hundred kegs of beer will be served alongside all-day entertainment. Kelly's has established what it believes to be the largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in Iowa.

Friday's St. Pat's Weekend Kickoff concert, with tickets being sold in advance at Kelly's for $8, or the day of the show for $10, will also include Irish Dancers and three local opening acts before Nashville recording artist and CMT star Beau Davidson takes the stage.

Saturday, the main celebration gets started at 6:00am, and to fit the annual Skydiving Leprechauns, the Mullane Healy Godley Irish Dancers, a magician, a juggler, and live music (complete lineup below], Kelly's has added a second tent, for a total of 11,000 square feet of heated tent space. The added space will allow Kelly's St. Patrick's Day Festival to include games, and TVs for NCAA Basketball Tournament viewing, as well as a VIP Package that includes a raised area, limited to 100 VIPs, with VIP snacks, a gift bag, and special services. 2012 will also find the return of Mississippi River Distilling Company's River Baron Vodka - made in LeClaire, Iowa. This locally produced small-batch vodka will be featured in a Kelly's Irish Pub & Eatery Signature Drink called the "Flying Leprechaun."


Owner Dan Kelly says, "Partnering with local businesses and organizations is important to our goal of making this a community event. We expect this celebration to continue to grow and be a fun, safe, friendly event, and those partnerships serve to enhance that goal. Partners include this year's stage sponsors, Wieblers' Harley Davdison, as well as the River Cities' Reader, Knilan's Furniture and Radon Solutions. All of Kelly's partners, along with, Per Mar, sponsor of Mullane Healy Godley Irish Dancers at Kelly's help keep admission free for this annual celebration."

In that same spirit of community, and to continue an eight year tradition of safe, fun St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Kelly's will be offering a shuttle service to make sure people get home safely. Details can be found posted at either end of the tent on Saturday.

Great food has always been great tradition at Kelly's and in less than twenty four hours, the Kelly's team will serve up over two thousand pounds of slow-cooked corned beef, either as a sandwich or as a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, complete with roasted red potatoes.
The event has consistently been growing since 2005 and Kelly's owner Dan Kelly says he is expecting more than 15,000 attendees. "There is no fee for admission Saturday, with plenty of nearby parking." Says Kelly, "We are seeing folks coming in from Des Moines, Dubuque and Iowa City. It's become a regional draw to the Quad Cities."


Event Schedule - Live Entertainment in the tent on the Wieblers Harley Davidson Stage:
Friday in the tent
Tickets for Friday $8 in advance (available at Kelly's)/$10 at the door
4:00pm      Tent Opens
5:00pm      Mullane Healy Godley Irish Dancers
6:00pm      Superfly Samurai
7:15pm      North of 40
8:45pm      Corey Booth Project
10:15pm     Beau Davidson

Saturday Mainstage entertainment (FREE admission Saturday)
6:00am    Doors open
11:00am     Mullane Healy Godley Irish Dancers
11:45am     Bagpiper Rich Watt
1:00pm      Acoustic music by Jason Carl
2:15pm      Myers Brothers
4:00pm      Mullane Healy Godley Irish Dancers
5:00pm      bagpiper Rich Watt
5:10pm      Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls
6:30pm      Tronicity
7:45pm      Cosmic
9:00pm      Third Rail
10:45pm     Spatterdash

Other Saturday entertainment
11:00am     Rock 104 Dave & Darren
1:00pm      Dean Franzen
2:00pm      Magician Mark Yeager
4:00pm      Skydiving Leprechauns (weather dependent)

Note: Live entertainment start times are an estimate only and subject to change. The Skydiving Leprechauns will not jump if weather conditions are not optimal.

About Kelly's: Opened in 2004, Kelly's has always been proud of its tradition of great food and great service by a friendly staff in a comfortable atmosphere. With a diverse menu ranging from burgers and pub food to salmon and salads, fried items are hand battered and breaded to order, queso dip and soups are made from scratch, in-house. With 12 flat-screen TV's and a 106-inch big screen, this Irish pub is perfect for watching all the sports action in a family-friendly atmosphere.

Like everyone says: "Kelly's IS Patrick's Day!"

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Advocate Offers Tools to End Horrific Practice

In January, MSNBC.com posted a report of its four-month investigation into a slavery network emanating in Eastern Europe. Every year, it says, some 200,000 women and girls are  smuggled out of impoverished former Soviet countries and sent to the Middle East, Western Europe and the United States, where they're held captive.

In Haiti, UNICEF reported thousands of children were illegally trafficked out of the country following the devastating earthquakes two years ago. Selling orphaned children as slaves is a common problem following natural disasters, it says.

"Modern-day slavery is an even bigger problem than it was during the years of legalized slave trade from Africa to the Americas," says Lucia Mann, the daughter of a woman who was held as a sex slave in South Africa in the 1940s. Mann, a former journalist, tells a slightly fictionalized version of her family's story in Rise Above Hate & Anger (www.luciamann.com).

There are ways individuals can help end the suffering and reach out a hand to victims, says Mann, who created the Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre as a tool to address the problem. Here are details about the reporting center and other resources.

• At The Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre, www.mdsrc.org, anyone who suspects a person is being held captive, or any person who is being held their will, can file a report. The information will be reported to law enforcement officers and the person filing can request they remain a confidential source. The Web site also includes links to relevant law-enforcement agencies in Canada and the United States.

• At www.slaveryfootprint.org, people can take a short online survey that calculates the number of slaves working for you around the world based on the clothes, cars, electronic items and other consumer goods you own. The number is calculated according to what's known about slave labor in the regions where the raw materials are produced and the goods are manufactured. (Google Chrome is required to take the survey.)

• At www.chainstorereaction.com, are email prepared letters and surveys to any of 1,566 companies asking what steps they're taking to ensure no slave labor is used in their supply chains. Companies who complete the survey and go out of their way to describe ongoing and current efforts are tagged with a "Thank You." Companies that complete the survey are tagged with "View Response." As of mid-January, 70 companies ranging from Fruit of the Loom to Campbell's Soup had earned a "Thank You." Another 25, including Avon and Best Buy, had completed the survey. Most, though, had not responded despite numerous emails. Duracell, for instance, was sent 432 emails and Bounty was sent 221.

• In California, the Transparency in Supply Chains Act became effective Jan. 1. It requires retailers and manufacturers with gross receipts of $100 million to disclose what they've done - or haven't done - to eliminate slavery in their supply chains. While there are no punitive consequences, advocates say the law will raise awareness and allow consumers to reward or punish companies with their shopping choices. Residents of other states can lobby legislators for a similar law.

"There is nowhere in the world now where slavery is legal, and yet more than 27 million people are held captive as forced laborers or sex slaves," Mann says. "That's more than twice the number enslaved during 400 years of trans-Atlantic trading.

Raising Americans' awareness and concern is the first step to ending slavery, Mann says.

"If there is no money to be made from enslaving people, it will end."

About Lucia Mann

Lucia Mann was born in British colonial South Africa in the wake of World War II and lives in British Columbia, Canada. She retired from freelance journalism in 1998 and wrote Rise Above Hate & Anger to give voice to those who suffered brutalities and captivity decades ago.

Coal Valley, IL - February 28, 2012 - Niabi Zoo has announced that it will open its gates for the 2012 season on Monday, March 5th.

The zoo, which has been closed for the winter since mid-December of 2011, will be open from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm each day. As a way to welcome the community back out to the zoo, admission will be free until March 11th.

Niabi Zoo Interim Zoo Director Marc Heinzman says zoo visitors have much to look forward to this year. "The great thing about visiting Niabi Zoo," said Heinzman, "is that it's always an adventure for our guests. Our baby giraffe born last September has really grown up in just a few months, and we've got a new baby colobus monkey that was just born a couple months ago. Both of them are doing great!"

In addition to the new zoo babies, Niabi Zoo has added new programs to enhance the experiences of zoo guests. "We have added Keeper Chats this year," said Heinzman. "Every day at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm at different animal exhibits Niabi Zoo zookeepers will be available to speak with zoo guests about the animals and answer questions. This will be a great addition to the visit of anyone spending the day at the zoo."

Starting March 5th, Niabi Zoo will be open seven days a week.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

 

Grassley seeks top-level review and action against defense spending waste

 

WASHINGTON -- Senator Chuck Grassley today presented Defense Secretary Leon Panetta 16 audit reports that uncovered egregious waste and misconduct at the Department of Defense and called for accountability and the recovery of wasted money.

 

With $500 billion in controversial defense budget cuts proposed by the Obama administration, Grassley said the waste identified in the reports is the perfect place for the Pentagon to begin its belt-tightening campaign.

 

"If I had two words to characterize what I found in those 16 reports, they would be 'scandalous' and 'disgraceful,'" Grassley said in a letter he gave directly to Panetta during a hearing on Tuesday of the Senate Budget Committee.

 

Grassley urged the Secretary to prevent the findings and recommendations in the reports from being buried in the Pentagon bureaucracy.

 

The Budget Committee hearing focused on the President's defense budget request for the next fiscal year.  Eight of the audit reports highlighted by Grassley pertain to contract-related issues.  The other eight zero in on wasteful stimulus-bill funded projects.

 

"The officials who are responsible for what happened must be held accountable and improper payments need to be recovered," he said.  "Until there are meaningful consequences and real penalties for such gross waste and misconduct, the culture of the organizations involved will never change.  Unabated waste of the taxpayers' money will continue."

 

Grassley noted that the reports themselves cost $100 million a year to produce for the Secretary of Defense and Congress, so if the reports are ignored, the Secretary and members of Congress become party to the waste exposed.

 

The detailed letter from Grassley to Panetta can be seen here.

 

The reports identified in Grassley's letter concerning contracts involve purchases made through the Department of Energy, spare parts pricing practices; Defense Finance and Accounting Services procedures; body armor effectiveness; the Afghan National Police Training Program; and fuel contracts in Korea.

 

The eight stimulus-funded projects described in Grassley's letter involve a solar lighting project a the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia; a wind turbine project at Fort Wainwright; Air Force projects on energy efficiency; photovoltaic projects at Navy and Marine Corps bases; a geothermal energy development project at the Naval Air Station in Falon, Nebraska; and a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning project at Naval Support Activity in Norfolk, Virginia.

 

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Visits Piper Elementary to Show How Educational Technology
Can Help Students Achieve and Succeed

 

BERWYN - February 28, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today called on lawmakers, administrators, teachers and parents across Illinois to recognize the critical role technology plays in educating the next generation of students. Just a day after President Obama asked governors across America to protect and invest in education even during tough budget times, Governor Quinn championed his plans to continue investing in Illinois' education during a visit to Piper Elementary. The Governor was joined by Riverside Village President Michael Gorman, 2nd graders and their teacher Maureen Gorman, who demonstrated how their class uses technology to improve learning.

 

"The most valuable investment we can make is in the education of our children," Governor Quinn said. "Preparing our students for a 21st century economy starts with making sure their classrooms use the technology that will be vital to their success in high school, higher education and their careers."

 

Piper Elementary, part of District 100 in Berwyn, is making strong progress in narrowing the achievement gap that hurts too many Illinois students. District 100 is 79% Hispanic and 74% low income. However, Piper students are showing real progress thanks to strong parent and teacher cooperation and administrators investing in 21st century educational technology like smart boards, multimedia labs and tablet computers.

 

83% of Piper students met or exceeded standards in state testing in 2011 and District 100 as a whole rose to the top 49% of districts statewide, following three years at the mid-60% level. Piper has made adequate yearly progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind every since it was enacted - one of only 7 elementary schools of similar combined demographics and incomes to achieve this progress.

 

Governor Quinn has reiterated his commitment to education, jobs and economic growth in his proposed budget by maintaining funding for K-12 and higher education and increasing early childhood funding by $20 million, as well as a $50 million increase for the state Monetary Award Program (MAP), which provides college scholarships for needy students. Governor Quinn also recently announced $623 million in Illinois Jobs Now! capital funding to help dozens of school districts statewide make critical repairs, additions and technology updates to classrooms. Combined with local dollars, the funding will allow school districts to complete projects totaling more than $1.2 billion. In his budget address, Governor Quinn renewed his commitment to continued capital construction funding for school construction.

 

In his recent remarks to the National Governors Association, President Obama challenged the states' chief executives to invest in American economy built to last by doing their part to ensure American students and workers have the education and training they need to be prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century. Governor Quinn intends to meet the President's challenge and urge lawmakers to pass his education blueprint, which will help avert teacher layoffs, make college more affordable through targeted tax relief and reigning in student loan rates, securing funding for Pell Grants and taking steps to double the number of work-study jobs over the next 5 years to help students who are working their way through school.

 

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Des Moines, February 28, 2012?On April 10, the Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Bettendorf. The court proceedings will take place at the Pleasant Valley High School auditorium, located at 604 Belmont Road. The session will begin at 7 p.m.

The court will hear attorneys argue in two cases yet to be announced.

The supreme court hears cases on appeal, which involves the review of a decision of another court. During oral arguments, the court does not conduct trials, hear witnesses, or admit new evidence. The court determines whether legal errors were committed in the rendering of the lower court's judgment or order. The supreme court can affirm?uphold the decision or order of the lower court, reverse?set aside the decision or order, or remand?send the case back to the lower court with instructions, including instructions to hold a new trial.

The Iowa Supreme Court is composed of seven justices, each appointed by the governor from a slate of three nominees selected by the state judicial nominating commission. Court members are: Chief Justice Mark Cady, and Associate Justices David Wiggins, Daryl Hecht, Brent Appel, Thomas Waterman, Edward Mansfield, and Bruce Zager.

For more information, visit http://www.iowacourts.gov/Supreme_Court.

 

# # #

Statement by Chris Bern, President of the Iowa State Education Association

on Iowa's Application for a Waiver to the No Child Left Behind Law

DES MOINES, IA (02/28/2012)(readMedia)-- At this time, the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) is not signing on in support of Iowa's application for a waiver to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. While we understand the need to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach to testing and school accountability under NCLB, the ISEA still has questions about the specifics of this application that need to be addressed.

One area of concern for educators is tying student achievement data to teacher evaluations. As frontline professionals, our members need to be at the table when those decisions are made and the state should be cautious when proceeding with this large policy shift.

In addition, we are concerned that implementation of the waiver application will require resources and education funding decisions are still a long way off in the legislative session. From its inception the education community has realized that NCLB did not provide states the resources to meet the demands of the law. As Iowa applies for the waiver, we do not need to trade in one unfunded mandate (NCLB) for another.

The ISEA remains deeply committed to the success of every child and is ready and willing to work with all of the partners in the education community; teachers, administrators, parents, and policymakers, to ensure our education policies place students at the center. Until our members have had adequate time to review and contribute to the NCLB waiver discussion, the ISEA will not be lending its support to Iowa's application at this time.

The ISEA is a private, professional organization made up of over 34,000 educators who are dedicated to promoting and preserving public education for all Iowa students. Great Education. It's an Iowa Basic.

(Des Moines, IA - Feb. 28, 2012) - Wishes to Walt Disney World® Resort may be the most typical wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but there was nothing commonplace about Elizabeth's wish. The six-year-old from Underwood, Iowa wished to go to the Disney Theme Park to meet Belle, Cinderella, Tinkerbell and Rapunzel, and when her wish was fulfilled, Elizabeth became the 2,500th child to receive a wish in the state of Iowa.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa grants the wishes of children living with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. A wish come true helps children feel stronger and more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions. For many wish children and their families, it marks a turning point in their fight against their illnesses.

The Iowa Chapter grants approximately one wish every other day and 82 cents of every dollar donated goes directly toward wishes. Examples of some of our wishes include to have a room redo, to meet a sports or movie celebrity, to be a dolphin trainer, and to go places like the Super Bowl or, like Elizabeth, to Walt Disney World® Resort.

In 2012, the Iowa Chapter is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and 2,500 wishes granted to Iowa's children living with life-threatening medical conditions.

In Summary

  • Elizabeth's wish to go to Walt Disney World® Resort and meet the Disney princesses was the 2,500th wish granted in Iowa.
  • This year, the Iowa Chapter is celebrating its 25th Anniversary of granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
  • The Iowa Chapter grants a wish every other day and 82 cents of every dollar raised is devoted to granting wishes.

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About the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa
The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 and the Iowa Chapter was established in 1987 after granting the wish of a young Iowa man who wanted to meet David Copperfield.  The Iowa Chapter grants a wish every other day and devotes 82 cents of each dollar raised to wish granting. For more information, visit www.iowa.wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.

Capone's Whiskey: The Story of Templeton Rye Hits Theaters March 2nd

(Des Moines, IA) - Greetings from Modern American Cinema! We are proud to announce that Kristian Day's documentary Capone's Whiskey: The Story of Templeton Rye will begin its theatrical run starting this Friday in Iowa City, IA and will continue the run in select theaters until the end of September. Most cities will only be offering a one or two day showing and a small number of theaters have been selected to include film maker Q&A sessions after the screenings.

Kristian Day's documentary film chronicles the history of the infamous whiskey cookers of Carroll County from their outlaw days of Prohibition to when the liquor became legal in 2006. During the Prohibition Era, west central Iowa farmers cooked whiskey in their barns and machine sheds to supplement their income in the harsh times. The finished product was of such a high quality that it quickly made its way to speakeasies in Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha through Italian gangster Al Capone. For almost 80 years the product was considered illegal until it was introduced in 2006 as a legal brand of top shelf liquor. The film made its debut on December 4th, 2011 at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines, Iowa.

"This film uncovers a part of Iowa's history that has been kept in the dark for almost a hundred years," says Day. "I wanted to tell a story of survival and community spirit without taking away the mystique that it has carried with it for so long."

Theaters who are interested in booking Capone's Whiskey: The Story of Templeton Rye should contact Kristian Day and Modern American American Cinema, LLC directly at kristianday@gmail.com.

Day, 26, a native of Rock Island, IL, went to high school in Cedar Rapids and attended the University of Colorado at Denver in the music industry studies program. In 2008, Day began directing and producing his own movies. His short films have played all over the world including Austria, Greece and Italy. His films have also been screened at various festivals in cities across the United States including Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.

This movie is the third movie in Day's MADE IN IOWA documentary series, which has previously included Brent Houzenga: Hybrid Pioneer (available on DVD) and Templeton Rye: Iowa's Good Stuff (30 minute short), which aired along side the Ken Burns' series Prohibition on Iowa Public Television this past October and is currently available on Amazon's Video On Demand. The ongoing series tells the stories of the innovative people, places and ideas that have influenced Iowa's culture.

Modern American Cinema, LLC is an independent film production & distribution company based in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 2010, the company specializes in creating full-feature narratives and educational documentaries for international distribution.

Current screening dates include :

March 1st at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA (private alumni/student screening)

March 2nd, 3rd, and 4th at the Bijou Cinema in Iowa City w/ film maker Q&A

March 10th at the Iowa Theater in Winterset, IA

March 10th at the Rialto Theater in Pocahontas, IA

March 22nd at Mayne Stage in Chicago, IL w/ film maker Q&A *Whiskey Fest Event*
March 23rd at The Grand Theater in Eldora, IA

March 24th & 25th at the Central Theater in Geneseo, IL
March 24th at the Grand Theater in Greenfield, IA
March 26th & 28th at the Prairie Cinema in Prairie Du Chien, WI
March 29th at the Orpheum Theater in Marshalltown, IA w/ film maker Q&A
April 10th at the Elkader Cinema in Elkader, IA

April 13th at the Palace Theater in Vinton, IA w/ film maker Q&A

April 28th at the Mindframe Theater in Dubuque, IA w/ film maker Q&A

April 28th & 29th at the New Strand Theater in West Liberty, IA
April 28th & 29th at the Dreamland Theater in Carson, IA

May 11th &12th at the Donna Reed Theater in Denison, IA w/ film maker Q&A
September 28th & 29th at the Temple Twin Theatre in Mount Pleasant, IA

 

Important Links:

 

Official Film Trailer

 

Facebook Fan Page

 

Templeton Rye Spirits

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